Watch your tongue!

Grace be with you all and the peace of God, our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

What we say influences others, but it also has repercussions for us. Through thoughtless, unrestrained words, we sow seeds which can result in an evil harvest, not only in the lives of others: no, their mere utterings also harm us. When we however refuse to give uttering to evil thoughts, we nip them in the bud.

We all, and all commentators on social networks need to think about it. Where many words are present, there is never an absence of sin… and where many words are present, one hears unwise things: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). The Bible says it even clearer “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.” (Proverbs 29:20). Think before you speak, don’t be too hasty! Because God is in heaven and you are on earth – so be sparing with your words! God’s Word either keeps you from sin or sin keeps you from God’s Word. We have a tremendous power with our words and our tongue and as Christians, a great responsibility! In some way God holds everyone accountable for his own words! “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Guard your tongue. No lies, no mean word should come from your mouth. It does matter what we say, the power of words is not to be underestimated, a bad word is a bad deed. It is the duty of the righteous to be of sound speech. If you insult your neighbour, you should know who you are insulting.

We don’t need to see the exhortations of the Scriptures as warnings with finger pointing, but as a desire for good relationships, which are the consequences of these exhortations. It is about living meaningful and fulfilling lives. The desire for good relationships are described with the following words: “To see good days, to love life, to do good, to seek peace”. Other descriptions have special attributes of how to achieve the desire for a good life: guarding one’s tongue, turning away from evil, breaking the vicious cycle of vengeance, being compassionate, merciful and humble, blessing. Blessings are upon those who embrace this life-giving behaviour. People who live in this manner are called the righteous. But, the eyes of God are on the righteous. God turns towards these people. Where God is present, there is life. God’s eyes are on the righteous, He sees them and sees their works. God’s ears hear their prayers sent to heaven, He sees with His eyes and hears with His ears, their call for help will not fade away. His attention is a certainty to them. God’s seeing and hearing, His attention, becomes a blessing. People who are blessed, themselves become a blessing to others.

Let’s remember that, as Christians, we have a sacred responsibility. Before we speak, write and comment, we must read God’s Word and pray. Sometimes it is better to keep silent and pray. Only wisdom teaches silence. A proverb says: to speak is like silver, silence is gold! Spoken words are by no means only empty sounds and smoke, but deeds. With words we can encourage, comfort, close deals, place orders etc. but also destroy and disrupt. Words can become sharp, sometimes deadly, weapons.

God knows that the power of human words are able to do much good, but also to destroy much. This is why He pronounces His judgement over every useless word. Especially, as Christians, we must pay particular attention to our speech. Let us always remember that.

We should edify Christ in our hearts. How does this work? Perhaps the best way to do this is to keep Jesus’ image alive, that we recall how compassionate, merciful and humble Jesus Himself was. He experienced suffering, He was persecuted. People who suffer, who face danger, fear and pain, can identify with Him. Jesus helps us to reach the goal: to be like-minded, compassionate, merciful and humble. We seek the good and rejoice in peace, witness to the hope that is in us. Amen.

Bernhard Beck